A Swiss court has found a businessman guilty of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl on a flight. The 44-year-old married man assaulted the teenager during a nine-hour journey from Mumbai to Zurich.
The girl was sitting next to the perpetrator and had briefly spoken to him before falling asleep. While she was sleeping, the man proceeded to carry out sexual acts on her and himself. The 44-year-old confessed to the acts in a hearing at the Bülach District Court and said he had made a mistake.
He admitted that the teenager had not consented to the sexual activity.
The court hearing comes in the wake of recent amendments to Switzerland’s rape laws following heated debates. The National Council of Switzerland and the Council of States have agreed on a formula, whereby “no means no”.
The amendment came into effect a year ago and means rape is now considered to have occurred if the victim indicates through words or gestures that they do not consent to the sexual act.
Prior to the change, rape was only considered to have occurred if the assailant threatened the victim or used violence.
The 44-year-old man was given a 1.5-year suspended sentence, but he will not need to serve time as he has been in custody since March.
The sentence was described as lenient and “barely appropriate” by the presiding judge.
The assailant is banned from entering Switzerland for the next five years and is prohibited from engaging in any activity involving regular contact with minors for life.
The man was released from custody and handed over to the Migration Office for deportation, and he will have to pay around CHF 9,000 (£8,250) to cover the costs of the trial.
